Priestly Breastplate Matchbox

Priestly Breastplate Matchbox

Box 2 1/8" x 1 1/2"
Tray 3 1/4" x 2 1/2"

 

The twelve tribes of Israel were the descendants of the Biblical Patriarch, Jacob. Each of the tribes receives its name from the name of one of the twelve sons of Jacob, which are: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph and Benjamin.  As a result of the Assyrian and Babylonian invasions of both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel, the knowledge of descent from these twelve tribes was lost. The majority of modern Jews cannot  trace their ancestry back to any one particular tribe, and therefore they are identified with the general title of Israelite. The few Modern Jews who can trace their ancestry, however, identify with the groups whose ancestry have continued to be preserved, the Kohanim (Priests) and the Levites (those who served the Priests).